Lupin III: Dead or Alive

Lupin, Goemon, and Jigen take a mini-helicopter and head to the mysterious “Drifting Island” looking for a treasure rumored to be hidden somewhere on it. Through their exploration of the island, the trio encounters the lethal “Nanomachine,” the island’s security system. The trio triggers the alarm, springing “the Nanomachine” to life. The key to solving the island’s mystery lies in the small nation of Zufu. This once prosperous nation is now ruled by the ruthless, knife-collecting, General Headhunter. Fujiko does her usual probing and hacks into General Headhunter’s computer hoping to find some crucial information. Zenigata has received a video message from Lupin in which Lupin announces his desire for the priceless treasure. Oleander, a fiery blond officer with some hidden secrets of her own, steps in to help Zenigata. Armed with their newly found information, Lupin, Goemon, Jigen, and Fujiko go back to “Drifting Island,” but this time they are followed by General Headhunter.

(Source: ANN)

Lupin III Main

Kurita, Kanichi Japanese

Jigen, Daisuke Main

Kobayashi, Kiyoshi Japanese

Mine, Fujiko Main

Masuyama, Eiko Japanese

Ishikawa XIII, Goemon Main

Inoue, Makio Japanese

Zenigata, Kouichi Supporting

Naya, Gorou Japanese

Oleander Supporting

Takayama, Minami Japanese

Emerah Supporting

Yokoyama, Chisa Japanese

Panish Supporting

Furuya, Toru Japanese

Crisis Supporting

Nozawa, Nachi Japanese

General Headhunter Supporting

Ginga, Banjou Japanese

Himaki, Yuji Co-Director, Storyboard

Matsumoto, Tadahito Producer

Monkey Punch Director

Shinohara, Toshiya Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Jun 25, 2010

napolean86

Recommended

The animation style of this lupin movie differs somewhat from the other movies. This movie uses realism style animation as opposed to the exaggerated styles everyone is probably used to. The story is slightly better than average since lupin's job this time isn't a simple heist and he has to deal with a lot of political stuff that gets in his way.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Feb 27, 2017

Inuyoujo

Recommended

Starting off, this seems to be a heist movie but that changes tune very quickly as they turn out to be looking more for a place than a thing. It has a thing in it, but the story turns to be more about the place. This quickly turns into an action packed feature with a group of brutal killers, but it's in a fun Lupin way! What makes this one stand out is that it has an active revolutionary story attached. Unfortunately, the guys do a lot of work, and Fujiko doesn't do much until the last leg but what she does is very important.

There ... a weird love story around the character development woman, but to me, it has a natural way of playing out. She seems pretty real about it around everything that's happened, and I'm ok with her ending. It's kind of obscure, but I'd say it's enough.

I feel like the art and sound quality fell short on this one. I would recommend this to new Lupin fans, and people new to anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 30, 2016

BowlingJD

Mixed Feelings

Another Lupin movie and surprisingly directed by Monkey Punch. He has been stated on record that directing this film was not a good experience, the deadline was too short, and he only accepted the role because the film did not have a director.

This time Lupin and the gang, based on a rumour, head to a mysterious island to find a massive hidden treasure. Upon their arrival, they are attacked by a super sci-fi based security system and narrowly escape. The key to finding the treasure on the island is by unlocking some secret a small dictator nation has.

Although the plot is not too bad nor ... is it really good by any means, this Lupin movie is pretty average for the most part. Production was incredibly rushed and Monkey Punch basically only designed the opening and ending sequences, the most action packed parts of the movie. The rest of the team “filled” in the rest of the movie, which is why Dead or Alive has a bit of a slower pace and many questions and plot holes until magically filled in at the end. Basically, Monkey Punch did what he could to make this respectable.

Animation and sound are nothing spectacular. All of the usual Lupin characters are present as well as a change in Fujiko’s look and the basic Lupin driven femme-fatale character. Nothing really seems to stand out as good or bad in this anime. Even the evil villain in Dead or Alive seems too much of an evil gimmick. Dictator General Headhunter collects knives and is ruthless enough to kill with said knives. This character may be a gimmick but at least fits the evil villain role well right up until the end as he should.

The sci-fi element is what drives Dead or Alive. As opposed to the usual Lupin heist, this is more of a mystery treasure hunt. With this aspect it can either disappoint those who wanted more or intrigue those who wanted something different out of Lupin. However, for the fan familiar with Lupin and the gang, it is an average anime with a neat little science twist to drive the plot.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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